It's already Groundhog Day here in the U.S., and the scruffy little rodent named Punxsutawney Phil has already prognosticated we have six more weeks of winter ahead of us. Thankfully, the App Store is chock full of some new selections to make the time pass quicker, including a convenient way to put push notifications to work, a new mobile email client from Microsoft, a handy app for learning how to play your favorite tunes, how to take control of your Mac, and even a special version of Vine that's just for kids. It's all right here in our first New App Recap for the month of February, so sit back and enjoy!

Recovery is a set of tools you can depend on in a rare emergency — typically when something drastic stops you getting into OS X. It looks a lot like OS X proper, but its capabilities are limited to essential maintenance tools that help you get up and running after a critical problem. Here's how to use Recovery to get your Mac running again in the event your machine runs into serious trouble.

Independence Day has come and gone, and Bill Pullman hasn't made any speeches about taking back Earth. Alas, first contact will have to wait for another year. Hopefully Will Smith is still up for it when the aliens finally do come, but in the meantime, let's highlight some great free apps that slipped through the cracks over June.

It's that time again, where we at Free App Friday headquarters take a closer look at some of the more basic apps out there that are worth your time. Not unlike a fine IPA, just because they're smaller servings, doesn't mean they lack a punch.

Every Free App Friday we bring you a nuanced look at some of the best and brightest free content available in the App Store. This week, however, we're going to take a look at some smaller apps you might have missed over the past few months. While these offerings may be bite-sized, we still think they're worth sinking your teeth into.

Bartender is one of those apps that should be a feature of OS X itself. Once you allow software to populate the menu bar with icons, there should be decent means of management, beyond Command-clicking to drag the icons around. Once you get more than 10 or so apps running up there, your menu bar starts to look crowded, and that's when you signal for the Bartender.

If your digital music and videos just aren't loud enough, Boom is a handy Mac app that can crank up the volume—and even nondestructively alter the files, so they'll play louder on your iOS device and Apple TV, too.

It's a week filled with utility app sales. Sure, there's games to be found within these links, but it seems it is work more than play that fills app developer's sale dreams this week. So get off your duff, close out of Angry Birds, wipe the cheeto dust from your fingers, and get over to the App Store to get your life in order.